Google CEO Sundar Pichai today said the company is expanding its U.S. footprint, with plans to create “tens of thousands” of jobs while giving it a physical presence in nearly half the states in the country. The planned investments are a sharp increase from 2018, when Google spent $9 billion on data centers while also adding 10,000 new jobs.

“This growth will allow us to invest in the communities where we operate, while we improve the products and services that help billions of people and businesses globally,” Pichai said in a blog post. “Our new data center investments, in particular, will enhance our ability to provide the fastest and most reliable services for all our users and customers.”

By adding data centers and office space in more than a dozen states, from South Carolina and Ohio to Nevada and Oklahoma, Google will be able to improve its cloud computing capabilities and potentially gain more lobbying clout in a year when the advertising powerhouse is coming under intense scrutiny.

Pichai said it’s the second year in a row that investments outside of Silicon Valley outpace the company’s investments in and around its Mountain View, Calif., home. In addition to new data centers, Google said it plans to build or expand offices in Texas, Seattle, Georgia, Wisconsin and Massachusetts.